Demon Trouble
by Rhapsody's Song
Summary: Yusuke takes Keiko on a visit to his cousin Kagome's house. The cousins haven't seen each other since they were kids and things have changed quite a bit for both of them. Will they be able to team up effectively when a new demon threat emerges?
1. Of Slugs and Cousins

A/N: yes, another crossover. HOPEFULLY not corny, though my belief in my own abilities is not that great...-;; anywho, please humor me and read it anyway and don't forget to review! It may not turn out good, but I sure had a lot of fun writing it. Lol

Disclaimer: don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho

"Now DIE!" came the cry, echoing off the trees of the forest, a large BOOM followed soon after.

Kagome Higurashi watched as the dog half-demon, Inuyasha, swung the Tetseiga in a huge arch, neatly cutting the slug-like demon in half. Kagome hurried over and picked up the shard of the Shikon jewel, grimacing at the disgusting yellowy-greenish slime on it from the demon.

"Got it!" she called out to Inuyasha, who was trying to find something to wipe his sword off on.

"Great, now let's get outta this dump. The stupid demon just had to go and get his messy guts everywhere, didn't he?" he complained, looking at the Tetseiga in annoyance.

"Come on and stop complaining, you big baby," said Kagome, walking off in the direction of camp.

"What did you call me?" he asked menacingly as he caught up to her.

"Nothing," replied Kagome sweetly.

"I will not be called a baby by some wench like you," he shouted.

"How many times do I have to tell you? My name is KAGOME! Say it with me now, ka-go-me."

"Wench," he muttered.

"You're impossible," she said, shaking her head.

They walked off arguing, neither noticing a small piece of slug that slipped from the ground into Kagome's backpack.

The two arrived back at camp some time later, still bickering. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara had already set up camp and a delicious smell was coming from the pot hanging over the fire.

"...Wench! You don't get to tell me what to do!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Oh yea?" asked Kagome.

"Yea!"

"Sit, boy," she commanded. A loud THUMP was heard as Inuyasha hit the ground. Kagome promptly turned and walked over to the fire.

"Mm, smells good, Sango. What are you making?" she asked, pointedly ignoring Inuyasha as he got up and began muttering obscenities under his breath.

Sango, who, like the others, was used to this type of behavior, answered, "Rabbit stew with some herbs I found this morning. I trust the demon slaying went well?"

Normally, the others went along when they were collecting shards, but this time it was only a minor demon and they were all tired from walking all day.

Kagome held up the jewel shard, victoriously, pulling out her little bottle to put it in with the others. Shippo jumped onto her shoulder for a closer look.

"Wow, we have a lot," he commented, looking at the pinkish shards.

"Not as much as we would have," said Inuyasha. He was now sitting a few feet away, his back to the fire.

"Inuyasha!" said Kagome. "Do you always have to be such a pessimist?" She knew that he was talking about the time Kikyo had taken the shards that they'd collected from her.

Inuyasha stubbornly did not reply.

"Fine," she said, getting up, "I'm going home."

"What!" said Inuyasha. "We didn't even fight yet!"

Kagome smiled. "I know," she said, "but I've been here for an entire week. I mean, I know it's summer and I don't have to go to school, but I should still go home for a bit to check on Mom, Grandpa, Sota, and everybody."

"But—"

"Inuyasha," she said menacingly.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" he asked, his voice suddenly fearful.

She only sniffed, collecting her things. She put the jewel shards back in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, walking off.

"Fine!" he shouted to her disappearing back. "But I'm coming to get you tomorrow!"

Kagome rolled her eyes, her back turned to him so he didn't see, and smiled good-naturedly. "Bye, Inuyasha," she said.

Yusuke Urameshi was training in the middle of a forest. Bursts of blue spirit energy could be seen, flashing through the canopy as splinters littered the ground. He was just wiping sweat from his face when he heard something behind him and spun.

"You're working hard, Yusuke," said Kurama with his usual smile, emerging from behind a tree.

"Yeah, well I thought I should do some work since I'm going to visit my cousins tomorrow. I'll be there for a while and I don't know when I'll get a chance again," he muttered. "So where's Hiei?"

"You really ought to work on your spirit awareness," came the flat, mocking voice behind him.

"Hello to you too," said Yusuke.

"You don't look like you're looking forward to your visit" noted Kurama.

"Yeah, well I'm pretty sure it's going to be the next best thing to torture, so you're right on that count; I'm not looking forward to it one bit. I don't even know why my mom is forcing me to go anyway."

"They can't be _that_ bad."

"I mean, they're not really," said Yusuke hesitantly, "I just don't really like it at my cousins' place, that's all."

"When was the last time you visited them?" asked Kurama.

"I don't know, like 5 years ago. How much could've changed since then?"

Hiei snorted and Kurama smiled in amusement.

"What?" demanded Yusuke.

"Nevermind," said Kurama, giving up. He turned and headed back to his house, smiling as he shook his head in amusement.

"What!" repeated Yusuke, turning on Hiei.

Hiei only shrugged saying, "You're starting to sound like a retarded parrot." Then, he turned and disappeared in the opposite direction of Kurama, leaving behind a fuming Yusuke.

A/N: So? What do u think? I tried, anyway. I actually spent a stupidly long amount of time trying to figure out what Hiei would say on that last part. I finally settled for something I would say. Lol. I dunno, he doesn't talk much... anyway, please review! I enjoyed writing this fic even if no one enjoyed reading it...


	2. Mothers Ask Favors

A/N: Sorry it took so long, though the readers of my other story are probably even more mad at me...winces Anyway, yeah. I split the original chapter into two so the third chappie should be up soon also. Enjoy!

...

Yusuke arrived home that afternoon, slamming the door shut and walking towards the kitchen. He turned the corner and...SMACK!

He stumbled back, stars filling his vision. "Ow! What gives, Keiko?" he protested.

"We were supposed to go to the movies today, remember?" she demanded angrily.

"Oh, yeah..." he said, remembering, "Sorry about that. I completely forgot!"

"It doesn't matter," she said, "We had a great time without you."

"We?" he asked suspiciously. "By 'we,' you mean you and Botan, right? RIGHT?"

"No," she said breezily, "Koenma gave her some errands to run, so she couldn't make it."

"Then who—"

"Hey, Keiko! Do you know where the peanut butter is?" came the familiar voice. Kuwabara poked his head around the corner. "Oh, hi, Urameshi."

"Second cupboard to the left," replied Keiko, as if nothing had happened.

"Thanks he said and disappeared again into the kitchen.

Yusuke's mouth dropped open and he looked like he'd just swallowed a particularly juicy fly.

"You-you went with him?" he demanded.

"Yes," she responded, ignoring his tone, "and Kuwabara was a perfect gentleman. He even took me out for a drink when the movie was over."

"But him?" he said again, unable to think of anything else.

"You don't need to make it sound so bad, Urameshi," said Kuwabara, reproachfully poking his head out of the kitchen.

Puu flew out of the kitchen at that moment and landed on Kuwabara's shoulder.

"Great," Yusuke muttered, "Even my inner self is against me." He then proceeded to gawk and fume silently as Keiko ignored him and talked to Kuwabara.

"Thanks so much for coming," she said.

"It was nothing," said Kuwabara, blushing brightly.

"Well, I had a good time. We should do this again some time. I'll call you next time Yusuke ditches me at the theatre."

"Err...yeah," he said and hurriedly took his leave, both feeling and seeing Yusuke glaring fiery hell-daggers at him. Puu detached himself from Kuwabara and landed in Keiko's arms.

"Again?" sputtered Yusuke as Keiko closed the door. "With him?"

"Yes, Yusuke," she said, "with him because you don't seem to be capable of keeping your promises. And stop repeating yourself. You sound like a parrot."

"Keiko, I'm sorry! How many times do I have to say it? It just...slipped my mind."

"'Slipped your mind'?" she repeated angrily. "That show how important it is to you."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY! Look, I'll make it up to you...this Friday," he said quickly, naming the first date that came to his head.

"What about this Friday?"

"We'll go...see a movie. Whatever movie you want. My treat," he said, making it up as he went.

Keiko thought about it for a moment. "Okay," she agreed finally, "but you'd better show up this time."

"Don't worry," he said, relief written all over his face, "I'll be there for sure."

&&&

Dinner at Yusuke's house was always a particularly casual thing. Most of the time, he just grabbed something random out of the fridge. However, tonight his mom decided that they needed to eat together.

She prepared a surprisingly decent meal and made him sit down at the table.

"So what did you do today, Yusuke?" she asked in an I'm-a-good-mother tone that seemed quite strange coming from her mouth.

Yusuke, looking at her suspiciously, answered vaguely. "Hung out with a few of my friends."

"That's nice," she said, at a loss for what to say next.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Yusuke, unable to bear it any longer, asked, "What?"

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"Oh gimme a break, Mom. What is it? What is all this about?" he asked, gesturing at the food and the table.

"Well..." she began hesitantly. "You know those tickets I bought for our trip tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he said, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"I kind of...bought two kids tickets instead of a kid ticket and an adult ticket."

"You what?" he asked, "Can't you change it?"

"I tried, but they said that everyone was traveling at this time so there would be no way I could get an adult ticket until fall."

"So you're saying I have to go alone?" It wasn't that it'd matter too much whether she was there or not, but at least she was someone he knew.

"Well, it wouldn't be that bad," she said. "Since we have an extra ticket, you can take one of your friends along with you. I bet Keiko would be happy to go with you."

Well, not all alone then, he thought.

"Ah! Keiko!" he shouted, suddenly getting up and surprising his mom. "I'll be right back," he called, running to the phone.

He picked it up and quickly called Keiko's number, praying that she would answer. "Hello, Yukimura residence," came the prim voice at the other end.

"Hey Keiko, it's me," he said.

"Hi, Yusuke." Her voice was cheerful as ever, seeming to have forgotten the afternoon's incident.

"Err...About Friday...I forgot to tell you something," he started nervously.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice resigned, as if she'd already expected him to cancel. He thought he'd detected a hint of hurt in it as well, but told himself he was imagining things.

"Well, the bad news is, I can't make it because I'll be in Tokyo," he paused, waiting for the explosion that he knew was coming.

To his surprise, she only said, "Oh."

However, this made him even more nervous. It was one thing to have her mad at him, but when she acted like this...

"Good news is you get to come with me," he blurted out quickly, hoping for a good response.

"Oh my god! Are you serious?" she asked excitedly.

He smiled. "Of course I am. Mom accidentally bought two kids tickets so she can't go."

"That's too bad," she said.

That's Keiko for you, he thought fondly, Always have to think of someone else.

"Can you be ready by tomorrow?" he asked.

"So soon? Wait, it was tomorrow and you still told me to go to the movies with you on Friday?" she said.

"Keiko!"

"Alright, alright, but you have to be more responsible, Yusuke."

He sighed. "I'll come to your house tomorrow morning and help you bring your stuff over," he said.

"Okay. When's the train leaving?"

"Err...I don't know," he said.

"Well go ask your mom, then!" she said, as if stating the obvious, which she was.

"Okay, okay! You don't have to yell at me, you know." There was a clatter as he put the phone down. A moment later, he returned, saying, "Five o'clock in the afternoon. We should get there some time at night."

"Sounds great," she said and he could actually hear the smile in her voice.

"Alright," he said, "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"'Kay. Bye."

&&&

Kagome slipped quietly into her house later that night. Sliding the door closed, she tiptoed upstairs into her room, dropping her bag and grabbing a towel and some soap. She made her way to the bathroom down the hall and closed the door behind her, hoping she hadn't wakened anybody up. Turning on the faucet, she made herself a nice, hot bath, sighing gratefully as she took off her clothes and got in, allowing the water to soak away a weeks worth of grime and demon blood. There was nothing like a bath to make a person feel human again, she thought, content.

She got a bar of soap and began scrubbing, humming lightly to herself, thinking of the past week. Now that school was over, she could spend a lot more time in the feudal era. They had gotten three shards this week, quite an achievement. Naraku already had over half of the jewel, but they were working hard to get the rest of it. They may be able to get enough to equal his power, but they had beaten him before. Now they just needed a bit of a boost. At least, that's what they told themselves. What else was there to believe?

Kagome sighed. Now was not the time to think of those problems. Leaning back into the water, she rested her head on the rim of the tub. She must have fallen asleep because she was awakened when she suddenly realized that she was breathing, not air, but water. She erupted from the water, coughing and sputtering as she gulped in mouthfuls of air.

She looked out the window (A/N: which I decided, for whatever reason, had to be open while she was taking a bath...-;;) to find that it was early morning. The sun was just peaking over the horizon and the cool morning air was making her shiver; that and the water that had turned icy while she slept.

She quickly got out, dried herself up and wrapped a towel around her hair. Gathering her things, she walked back to her room. It was still early and nobody in her family had awakened yet. And I shouldn't be either, she thought, yawning. She hung her towel back up in her bathroom and put on her pajamas before flopping into bed and sleeping until late morning.

She woke up feeling comfortable and refreshed. She went downstairs, still in her pajamas and found her mom in the kitchen, cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

"Oh, good morning, Kagome," she said when she noticed her daughter's presence.

"'Morning, Mom," she replied, grabbing a bowl and going over to the cupboard to get some cereal.

"How was your time in the feudal era?" asked her mom in the tone a normal mom would be asking 'How was your day at school?'

"It was fine," replied Kagome vaguely as she munched on a spoonful of cereal. "We got a few more shards."

"That's great, honey. I'm glad you're home."

"Yeah. Me, too."

There was a moment of silence as Kagome continued to eat her cereal contentedly, not suspecting that anything was wrong. Finally, her mom spoke up again, clearing her throat.

"Erm...Kagome?" she began hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I have a favor to ask you..."

"Sure, what's up, Mom?"

"Well, your cousin Yusuke is coming to stay with us for a while."

"Little Yusuke? Wow, I haven't seen him in ages. How is he?"

"Well, I guess he's doing well. My sister is quite vague...The point is, Kagome, he's going to be staying with us for quite a while and I wanted to ask if you could stay here, instead of going with Inuyasha, at least for a little while."

"What? But I have to go! They need me!"

"Just for a little while," her mother pleaded. "Just show him around and when he gets settled in, we can think of an excuse to let you go."

Kagome thought about it for a while. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly. "When is he getting here?"

"Tonight, around nine. Would you like to come pick him up from the train station with me?"

"Sure, Mom. Just call me when you leave."

"Okay, dear. You can leave those dishes in the sink, I'll do them."

Kagome had finished her breakfast and brought her dishes over. "Thanks, Mom," she said before heading back to her room to change.

&&&

That night, the station was packed full of people. Kagome and her mom stood to the side, waiting for the train to get there.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen," came the female announcer's voice on the loudspeaker. "Train 10 has been delayed, but should be arriving shortly. Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience."

"Wonder what's taking so long," said Kagome, craning her neck to see if the train had arrived yet.

...

A/N: So, anyone curious as to what's going on aboard the train? Well, read the next chapter to find out!

Special thanks to all my reviewers!

Peachy Garlic: Hm...all I have to say is READ IT! Well, I s'pose you don't have to since I'm not reading all of yours, but...! -

Majinzahne: Lol. Well, thanks for reading my story despite your doubts. I won't exactly tell you how it will end up (partly because I'm not quite sure myself) but since I agree with you wholeheartedly, I think you'll be quite satisfied.

Saiyuki Luver: Lol. Well, I don't know what happened exactly, but that's how it turned out. I had a lot of fun writing it. Heh. Apparently, I like making idiots outta my characters Shrugs I guess you learn something new about yourself everyday.

KitsuneMIKO: Thank you for reviewing. I kind of already have a semi plan for the story, but I'll take your opinion into account...

Alex36: I'm trying. My comp crashed and took all I had of the next chapter. Argh! KILL ALL VIRUSES! Sry...got a bit carried away...I'm gonna rewrite it, but it'll take a while once again, because, once again, my comp crashed so I have to use other comps. Grr.

Lady of the Squrriles: Well, the pairings are going to be a surprise. There is romance, but I don't know if this will be a typical Inu x YYH but it's not like the few I've read so far...


	3. Adventures on a Train

Yusuke sat on the train, completely bored out of his mind. Next to him, Keiko slept soundly. How does she do that? He wondered in amazement. She had been that way almost from the moment they had taken their seats. Yusuke had been left to his own devices. First, he tried twiddling his thumbs, but that is only amusing for the first thirty seconds or so. He tried reading the magazines that were provided, but they only had golf and fashion magazines, neither of which, he was particularly interested in. Sleeping was out of the question since the train seemed to go out of its way to hit every bump in the road. Yusuke had to check several times to assure himself that Keiko really was sleeping and not just dead since not even the largest bumps seemed to make her budge. He was contemplating the different ways to eat a peanut when he noticed three men enter the compartment, covered in black from head to toe, a bit odd for summer.

They quickly walked over to the other side of the car and were gone in a matter of seconds. None of the other passengers seemed to notice them, but Yusuke thought that there was something strange about them. He looked at Keiko, pulling the blanket up around her shoulders a bit. Satisfied that she probably wouldn't be going anywhere for a while, he got up and casually walked in the direction that the men had gone in.

He did not see them in the next car, or the one after that, but just as he was entering the third, he saw the tail end of a black trench coat before it disappeared behind another sliding door. He quickened his pace and caught up to them in the next compartment, a luggage car.

They had stopped. Yusuke hid himself behind the door and looked in by pushing the door open an inch. Suddenly, Yusuke realized what had been wrong with them. It was barely discernable because of all the clothing they wore to cover it up, but as they were talking, their scarves were loosened a bit and Yusuke caught a glimpse of horn, glinting wickedly in the dim light that filtered through the window. _Demons._ The three had stopped and seemed to be conversing with someone...or something. However, Yusuke could not see who it was, from his position and he dared not move and give himself away.

_Great_, he thought. _So now what am I supposed to do?_

Suddenly, a large hand gripped his shoulder painfully. Yusuke looked back to see a heavyset man, dressed in black. He had been too busy trying to eavesdrop and had not noticed that there were only two men there instead of the original three. He cursed himself for his carelessness as he sized up the situation. The man holding him was huge. He towered at least three feet above Yusuke and had to slouch a bit to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" the figure asked in a voice that was very high coming from someone so large. In fact, the surprise threw Yusuke off guard for a moment as he considered laughing. However, he discarded the idea, knowing that he wasn't exactly in a position to provoke the man.

"Hey, I'm just...enjoying the view from here," he said lamely.

The man grunted, unconvinced. He picked Yusuke up by the back of his shirt and opened the door to the storage compartment, walking in.

"Hey, what're you doing, G?" demanded one of the men.

"Caught the kid snoopin' around outside," answered G.

_These guys must be so stupid they can only remember each others' names if they only have one letter in them,_ thought Yusuke.

Suddenly, a laugh came from the back of the room and Yusuke looked to find its source. "Amusing," said a voice. It was the kind of voice that you would expect to have a British accent, though this one did not. A figure walked out of the shadows and Yusuke realized that he was the one the demons had been talking to.

"Yes, I had wondered that as well at some point, but then I realized, all I need is brawn. I can provide the brains." The man looked human enough, but Yusuke kept getting a bad feeling from him. He was dressed in a black suit and tie, his blond hair tied back into a neat horsetail, not a single hair out of place. He had aristocratic features with sharp, coal black eyes. An amused smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

_What, can this freak show read my mind or something?  
_  
"Bravo! The young spirit detective is smarter than I thought," said the man, clapping his hands.

_Shit_.

The man laughed again.

"Well then, at least tell me your name," said Yusuke, the urge to forget all tact and just punch that arrogant grin off the man's face becoming more and more difficult to restrain.

"You can call me Hanto," he said.

"Okay...So, Hanto, what would you and a couple of demons be doing hanging out in a luggage car on a fine day like this?" He didn't actually expect Hanto to answer honestly, but he thought it'd be a reasonable thing to ask.

"Well, now that you mention it," he said, "We're planning on taking over one of the greatest power sources on the planet."

Yusuke was surprised by the answer and could only answer, "Oh."

"Tell me, human," said the man. "Did you happen to notice a particularly rich looking man as you were following us?"

"Actually, no. Should I have?" said Yusuke, feeling a bit stupid. He had been so intent on catching up, that he'd not looked at the other passengers at all. Nonetheless, the bravado that was always in his voice remained.

"He was sweating buckets when I last checked up on him. I suppose he knows we're coming. Not the most discreet man in the world, but what do you expect of a human?" When he laughed this time, the three goons laughed along, understanding the word 'human' at last out of this complicated exchange of words, commonly known as 'conversation.'

Yusuke rolled his eyes to himself before asking, "So am I to assume you're not human?"

"Do not insult me. Just because I am taking on this disgusting form, does not mean I am one of you. I am merely doing it for convenience's sake. Besides, it's too hot out to cover myself up like them," he said, gesturing to the three idiots. "They do not have the power to disguise their features completely."

"Right," said Yusuke shortly, no longer having the patience or tolerance for the small talk that Hanto seemed to enjoy so much. "So get on with your story. What does a nervous old fogy have to do with 'one of the greatest power sources on the planet'?"

"Oh yes, I suppose I should tell you first, however. Don't expect to walk out of this alive. The only reason I'm telling you my plans is because I have some time to kill and you had seen us, so you wouldn't be living anyway."

"Aw, and here I was thinking that it was my endless wit and charm that made you just want to open up and poor out all your troubles to me," said Yusuke sarcastically. He was not about to go without a fight and this Hanto character would learn that soon enough.

Hanto's lips quirked upward in another amused smile. "Look here, boys, we've got ourselves a comedian." The guys responded with hearty laughs, though judging from their blank expressions, they had no idea what was going on.

"So?"

"So what?" asked Hanto.

"You never told me 'bout your evil genius plan. We already know I'm going to die, so get on with it."

"Oh yes, that. Well, that man is carrying a suitcase, which contains something of great value."

_Let me guess_, thought Yusuke, _one of the greatest power sources on Earth._

"...one of the greatest power sources on Earth." Hanto paused and narrowed his eyes in Yusuke's direction as Yusuke grinned innocently.

"Can't help it if demons are predictable," he said simply. "So you're planning on stealing this...what is it exactly?"

"It is called the Umbra Crystal. It's about the size of my fist." He held up his clenched hand. "In it is enough power to destroy the planet."

"You're going to blow up the planet?"

Again, that irritating, condescending laugh, "Of course not, boy. Then where would I go? Besides. The crystal does not 'blow up' a planet. The planet will simply disappear as if it were never there."

"Okay...So if you're not getting rid of the planet, what are you going to do with it?"

Hanto gave a sigh of exasperation. "Rumor of human stupidity is far more accurate than I'd thought. I merely said that it had the power to destroy the Earth. I never said I would. Think; why destroy the world with its power when I can manipulate everything on it?"

"So you wanna take over the world." This was more of a statement than a question, but Hanto answered anyway.

"Yes. Now you're getting it!"

"It's always the same, either blow up the world, or take it over. Nobody seems to get any more creative than that. Don't you watch TV? It never works."

Hanto looked at Yusuke for a moment and then walked away, deciding not to dignify that statement with an answer.

"Hey!" shouted Yusuke, "Where're you going?"

"I have work to do," answered Hanto simply.

"And what do you plan on doing with me?"

"You? Well, I don't suppose it'd be wise to keep you around for this. Take care of him, boys."

At this, the 'boys' moved in, large, toothless grins on their stupid faces. This was something they understood. Yusuke, who had still been hanging in the air by the back of his shirt, was now set down on the ground, but G held his hands in a vice-like grip behind his back. He saw Hanto disappear through the door moments before the first punch landed.

Blows rained down on him as he tried to think of a way out. If he would only let go of my hand, he thought. Then it came to him.

"You guys hit like a bunch of girls," he said, a difficult task considering that he had a split lip.

The men narrowed their eyes in anger and tried to hit him even harder. One blow knocked the wind out of him so he had to force air back into his lungs before continuing his taunting. "I'll bet G here can't even hit harder than my girlfriend." He grinned to himself, liking the sound of calling Keiko his girlfriend, despite the fact that it technically wasn't true.

"Stupid human. He doesn't even know what he's talking about," said one of the demons.

"Yeah! You show 'im, G!" shouted the other.

"Alright," agreed G, letting go of Yusuke's wrists to throw a punch. However, this was exactly what Yusuke was waiting for. He brought his hand forward, fist clenched and glowing with his spirit energy.

"Spirit shotgun!" he shouted as he opened his fist and shots of spirit energy flew out, hitting the three demons. They were all thrown backwards into shelves of luggage, which toppled down and broke open, burying them beneath piles of boxers and women's lingerie. Yusuke dusted himself off as he took inventory. In addition to his split lip, he found that he had a black eye and, judging from the pain in his chest when he inhaled, probably a cracked rib, if not broken.

_I've had worse,_ he decided and set off in search of Hanto. He found him in the car where he had been seated, the 'rich man' happened to be sitting two rows in front of him. Hanto stood, holding a gun to the man's head like a typical hold up. Doesn't seem like his style at all, thought Yusuke. The spotless Hanto holding up a train like an average thug seemed very out of place. Looking over, he saw that Keiko was now awake and staring at Hanto. She saw him and their eyes met for a moment, hers filling with relief and joy at seeing him. He put a finger up to his lips and she nodded in understanding.

He was still outside the sliding door and Hanto had not spotted him yet. (A/N: This takes place before the Dark Tournament, so Keiko doesn't know anything yet and Yusuke is not super powerful either) _Gotta think. How do I get rid of Hanto and that gun of his without the entire train seeing my spirit gun?  
_  
He heard a gun shot and panicked. He charged inside, abandoning all thoughts of a plan, the only images running through his head were of Keiko, lying on the floor with bullet wounds and blood pooling around her.

He got in to see that Hanto had only fired a warning shot at the ceiling to threaten the man into submission. He turned when Yusuke entered, shock registering on his face.

"You're alive," he stated, baffled.

"Uh...yeah," said Yusuke. _He doesn't have to sound so surprised. I mean come on! The only reason those idiots even landed a blow was because Fatty had my hands behind my back!_ he thought. He heard a gasp and turned to see Keiko with her hands over her mouth as she stared at him. He looked at her in confusion for a moment, before realizing the shape he was in. I must look like a mess, he thought. He looked back to find that Hanto was recovering from his shock.

"Looks like you got a pretty good beating, though," he said, regaining his composer.

"Well, your goons are a lot worse off, believe me," Yusuke with a smirk.

"I see," said Hanto, his eyes narrowing, "Tell me, what is your name, I never seem to have gotten it."

"It's Yusuke."

"Ah. Well then, Yusuke. Tell me, what will you do now?"

Yusuke looked at him in confusion, wondering what he was talking about. Then, grinning, Hanto lowered the gun and pointed it straight at Yusuke's chest. At such a close distance, there was no chance of a miss. Yusuke took a half step back in surprise. Shit.

Try as he might, he could think of no way out of the situation. _That's it then, isn't it?_ He thought. _No point in secrets anymore. If I die, no one will be left to stop this freak show_.

Slowly, as if in a dream, he raised his right hand, index and middle finger extended, thumb pointing up so that they formed the shape of a gun. He knew how ridiculous it must have seemed, him holding up his hand as a gun while Hanto had the real thing cocked and pointed at him. Hanto raised his eyebrows.

"Interesting," he mused, seeming somewhat unsure now.

Yusuke only grinned and concentrated all his spirit energy into the tip of his index finger. The demon's expression turned to one of amazement as he realized what Yusuke was doing.

"How..."

"You didn't expect that, did you?" said Yusuke, still grinning recklessly. _What do you think about humans now, Hanto?_

"Humph," was all the answer he received as Hanto's face became grim and he put his other hand onto his gun, his finger tightening on the trigger. Yusuke readied himself as well. He wouldn't shoot if he didn't have to, but the way things were going, a peaceful ending did not seem probable.

Time seemed to freeze as they stood there. They stared into each others' eyes, neither daring to look away for even a moment. They did not even notice as the train rolled to a stop. Sweat rolled down the side of Yusuke's face.

This is it, he thought.

Just then, the most unexpected thing happened...

&&&

Back at Kagome's house, Inuyasha popped in through the open window in Kagome's room.

"Kagome!" he called, looking around for her.

"Inuyasha!" He turned to find Kagome's kid brother, Sota. "Are you looking for Kagome?"

"Yeah."

"She went out with my mom to pick up our cousin."

"She what?"

"She went out."

"Great," he muttered. "I let her stay longer and this is what she does in return." He moped about it for a moment while Sota watched. After a bit, Inuyasha picked up a familiar smell. "Hey, Sota."

"Yeah?"

"You wouldn't happen to be making Ramen, would you?"

&&&

A millisecond before he was about to pull the trigger, Yusuke froze in shock. Hanto suddenly crumpled in a heap in front of him. Yusuke looked up to find Keiko holding her purse in her hand and glaring down at the demon, who was apparently out cold.

Yusuke was at a loss for words. Then he suddenly noticed everyone staring at him and quickly lowered his hand, shoving it into his pocket. "Er...nice shot."

"Yusuke!" she said, dropping the purse and running over to him. "Are you okay? What happened to you?"

"I'm fine, Keiko. Don't worry!"

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Then in that case, you have some serious explaining to do."

_Uh-oh._

"Why does it look like you were fighting? Who was that guy? And what could have possibly possessed you to make you run in here like that and challenge a guy who was holding a gun?"

Yusuke opened his mouth to reply, though he did not have any idea what he was going to say. He was saved by the conductor, an elderly man with a big gray mustache, who had stopped the train when he heard the gunshot.

"What's going on in here?" he asked.

"Uh..."

...

A/N: so what'd you think? It's kinda odd, I know, but I tried. It's also a bit long, but I wanted to fit the whole train scene into one chapter. Please bear with me and my bad writing as I begin my next chapter. And if you decide to be generous, REVIEW!

Love to all my reviewers!

Dark lil Hiei-Thank you! And I'll think about it...

Anime Alex36-lol. Geez. That's a TON. I don't even actually know what's wrong with it, but it just kept shutting down more and more recently. Then, one day, it just died and refused to start up again. Stupid comp. And I hope u weren't too disappointed by this chapter. It got really...odd...

AniMegurl-thanx for reviewing!

kagome001-lol. Well, here's the new chappie, but it's a bit sketchy. Sorry. That's what happens when you write a part three times in three different ways and try to put them all together...

Kanna Fan-hehe. Well, hope ur curiosity has been sated. Sorry bout the long wait.

Lady of Chaos 2005-thank you! Sorry for the long wait. Comp problems.

Thx again! Adios!


	4. Inuyasha Deterred for a Week

A/N: well, I, or should I say my annoying brother, pointed out a small detail that I screwed up on. While I did say that this takes place before the Dark Tournament, Puu exists. sigh Oh well. Deal with it. Puu's cute and he stays. Let's just pretend he built himself a time machine...

...

Yusuke was able to convince the conductor that it was just a regular holdup. The rich man, who he later learned was named Matthias, was eager enough to agree to the story. If possible, he seemed to become even more nervous and could only nod, though they could have been mistaken for spasms.

It was 10:30 by the time the train finally pulled into the station. By that time, Yusuke was more than ready to leave. The conductor radioed the station and when they arrived, a squad of police went up and arrested Hanto and his three henchmen, which Yusuke told them about. He supposed that he probably should have had Botan take care of them, but she wasn't here and it would be hard to explain how four obvious criminals would not be going to jail. So they were taken away in handcuffs, still out cold.

"My aunt's will be nothing compared to this," Yusuke muttered as he grabbed his bags.

"It can't be that bad," said Keiko. "Hey, Yusuke. Can you help me with this?" she asked, gesturing to a large red luggage case that was underneath at least five others.

"Sure," he said, putting down his own near the door and going to help her. He pulled it out with relative ease, but had to hide a wince as it strained his bruised rib. _Have to remember to be careful with that one_, he thought to himself.

"Thanks," she said. "So you never told me, what exactly went on in there?"

"What do you mean?" asked Yusuke nervously. "It was just a plain old train holdup. Didn't you hear?"

"Yeah," she said, "That's what they said. But I have the feeling that you're not telling me something. What is it, Yusuke?" she asked, her expression becoming threatening.

"Of course not," he laughed nervously. "I don't know anything. Really."

"Oh yeah? Well at least tell me what possessed you to decide and point your hand at a man with a loaded gun. What were you thinking? Did you actually believe that you'd shoot a bullet or something?"

"Er...May I plead momentary insanity?"

"No. Explain. What is going on, Yusuke."

"Oh look! There's my aunt!" said Yusuke, delighted by the distraction. That was close!

Sure enough, there was a teen who looked a little older than him, and an older woman standing little apart from the rest of the crowd. The woman he recognized as his aunt was waving at them, and Yusuke waved back, hurrying over to them before Keiko could question him any further.

"Hello, Yusuke!" greeted his aunt, stepping forward to give him a hug. She was still the kindly, motherly figure he remembered from his childhood visits, though she definitely had a few more gray hairs and wrinkles than before. "My, you've grown so much since I last saw you. And - oh! What happened to you, dear?"

They had cleaned him up as best they could, but a black eye and a split lip aren't really easy to hide. Yusuke blanked, unused to having to explain his constant brawling injuries - his mother barely noticed and his friends mostly knew why or didn't bother asking anymore. "Um..."

"Some robbers were on the train and Yusuke tried to stop them," said Keiko, jumping in quickly to save him and at the same time shooting Yusuke a look that said she wasn't done with him yet. "By the way, my name is Keiko. I'm so sorry to intrude on your family this last minute."

"No, no, of course not, dear. Nothing to worry about. I'm very happy to have you over."

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mrs. Higurashi. And you must be Kagome!"

"Oh, um yes! Hi!" the girl started, embarassed at having been caught staring at Yusuke. "Nice to meet you," she said hastily, hugging Keiko warmly.

For his part, Yusuke seemed to have become unusually subdued, taciturn, even. When Kagome turned to him for some sort of greeting, she hesitated, somewhat at a loss. He nodded to her in acknowledgment and she stepped back, trying to smile.

"It's too bad your mom couldn't make it, Yusuke, but I'm sure Keiko here will be delightful company," said Mrs. Higurashi, interrupting the awkward exchange, "Come on then, we'd better get going. Do you have all your things?" Yusuke and Keiko both nodded and they all set off, following Mrs. Higurashi to the car.

&&&

The ride back to the Higurashi Shrine was mostly uneventful, though a bit awkward. Mrs. Higurashi asked many questions, which Yusuke answered in the fewest words possible. Finally, she gave up and chatted with Keiko, who responded delightedly. Kagome sat quietly in the front seat, contemplating her cousin. She barely remembered him from so many years ago, but she had never really expected for him to look like such... a gangster, really. How was her mother not even noticing this? They'd only met for a few moments and she already couldn't shake the sense that he was a juvenile delinquent. She knew she should be welcoming and accepting of him no matter how he seemed because he was family, but she couldn't help feeling more than a little uncomfortable around him. The weird thing was, Keiko seemed so pleasant and normal next to him. How did the two ever get to be friends?

They arrived home sometime around midnight. Kagome hopped out and went around to the trunk to grab some luggage, but as she saw Yusuke rounding the car from the other side, she paused without meaning to. He shot her a sidelong glance and said shortly, "I got it."

"Erm, ok. I'll go open the door then," Kagome said, with an attempt at perkiness. She hurried to the front door, inexplicably eager to get away, but when she walked into the living room, she gasped.

"There you are!" came an angry and all too familiar voice. "Where have you been all night? I—" The rest of his ranting was cut off as Kagome practically tackled him and put a hand over his mouth.

"What the—"

"Shh!" hissed Kagome. "My cousins are here."

"Cousins? What cousins?"

"I'll explain later. You have to hide! They'll be inside any minute!" As if to prove her point, they heard footsteps approach and the voices of Keiko and Kagome's mom.

Kagome shoved him into a closet and shut the door just as the front door opened.

"Kagome,"

"Yes, Mom?" answered Kagome, smiling nervously. "Come show Keiko up to the guest room. Yusuke will stay with Sota."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked before thinking.

Her mother paused. "Of course, dear, why wouldn't it be?" Though there was no change in her mother's tone, somehow, Kagome sensed that she was on thin ice.

"No reason. I don't know why I asked," she amended quickly.

"Mm, now why don't you take this and help Keiko to her room?" She handed Kagome a large red suitcase, giving her a mildly disapproving look as she did so.

"Sure thing, Mom," she said, feeling instantly ashamed. "It's just up the stairs, Keiko. Why don't you head up first, and I'll follow." When she was sure Keiko was out of earshot, she whispered quickly, "Stay still and don't make a sound. I'll be back."

&&&

It was not until a half an hour later that Kagome could finally relax. She flopped down onto her bed, exhausted by the day's activities. Yusuke and Keiko had been settled in and everyone had gone to bed. Everything was quiet but for the sound of crickets and some light snoring from Sota's room.

Kagome yawned. And to think I was just in the Feudal Era yesterday. She paused mid-yawn. The Feudal Era? Oh no! Inuyasha!

She leapt out of bed and hurried downstairs as quietly as she could. She opened the closet door to find a VERY aggravated hanyou glaring back at her. She winced. Putting a finger up to her lips, she motioned for him to follow her as she walked toward the front door.

She slid the door open and gestured for him to go outside. "Okay," she began as she closed the door. "Just, hear me out before you say anything, please?" she begged when she saw him open his mouth. She knew the yelling would come eventually, but she would delay it as long as she could.

"I'm REALLY sorry, Inuyasha. I was planning on coming back today, but my mom told me that my cousins were coming over and that I had to show them around town. So it turns out..." she hesitated, knowing that the explosion would come after her next statement. "...Ican'tgobackwithyouforawhile."

"You WHAT?"

"Shh! Keep it down! People will hear you."

Inuyasha glared, but grudgingly complied and lowered his voice, though that did not make things that much better. "I let you go back home for a day and you find some excuse to stay here for...how long, anyway?"

"It wasn't my idea! I just got dragged into it!" Kagome whispered back fiercely. "And I'm not sure how long. They're staying for a while, but I only have to be here until they get settled in. If I do some super tour guiding, I can probably do it in...a week?"

"A week?"

"I'm sorry! It's the best I can do! Otherwise they'll find it odd that I suddenly stopped coming home."

"I don't care what they think. You're coming back with me!" He grabbed her wrist, prepared to drag her to the well if he had to.

"Inuyasha, sit," she said calmly. She was instantly rewarded by a crash as Inuyasha collapsed to the ground. Muttering curses under his breath, he got up.

"I'm not coming back with you. I promised Mom. Please understand, Inuyasha. I would come back if I could. I swear!"

He glared at her for a long time and she felt nervous under his unblinking gaze, but did not back down. "Fine," he finally said through gritted teeth. "You have one week. That's IT. After that, you're coming with me."

"Deal," she agreed happily. "Thanks, Inuyasha. You're the best."

"Humph," he said. "I'll see you in a week." He leapt into the tree outside her house, but just as he was about to take off, he paused. When he turned around, his demeanor was contemplative. "Hey, Kagome. What was that about with your mom today? Why wouldn't it be a good idea for your cousin to stay with Sota?"

Kagome jumped. "Oh," she said, "You heard that?"

"I _was_ right next to you in the _closet_," he said, clearly not over his annoyance at being shoved into a closet for the better half of an hour.

"Oh right," Kagome said, scratching the back of her head in embarassment. "I, um... I don't really know. It's sort of complicated."

"Just spit it out already."

Kagome sighed. "Yusuke... I just... He makes me sort of uncomfortable."

Inuyasha's eyes flashed. "Do you think he's a demon?"

"No, no!" she said quickly, "It's not like that. I just... He's not like the type of people that I'm used to."

"Oh." He shrugged, clearly not getting it.

"Nevermind," she said. "I'm just being silly. You'd better go before someone sees you."

With a nod, he took off, bounding from tree to tree, his silver hair shining in the moonlight. Kagome watched him until he disappeared into the well house. Then, she let herself back into the house, sagging against the door in relief the moment she was inside. She pushed thoughts of her cousin aside, thinking instead of how Inuyasha had been easier to convince than she had expected. Perhaps it was possible to reason with Inuyasha. She gave a small smile and walked back up to her room, barely able to get herself to her bed before falling asleep.

&&&

Yusuke had just finished brushing his teeth and changing into his pajamas. He was sharing a room with Sota and the kid was already fast asleep, having gotten up only to greet him and Keiko before falling back asleep. They had gotten in really late.

Suddenly, Yusuke thought he heard a noise from outside. He opened the door quietly and checked the hallway, but it was dark and empty. Perplexed, he wandered to the bedroom's open window to have a closer look. Sota's room faced the front of the house so he could easily see Kagome standing outside. She seemed to be talking to someone... in the tree?

_Does perfect little Kagome have a secret boyfriend?_ He wondered, amused. _What is he doing in a tree?_ He heard his name and paused to listen.

"... I just... makes me ... uncomfortable."

He couldn't make out what Tree Boy said in response, but it seemed to alarm her. _Maybe he offered to beat me up._ Yusuke smirked at the thought.

"No, no! ...just... not like the type of people ..."

Yusuke backed quietly away from the window, having heard enough. Sure, it hurt to have family look down on you, but it wasn't exactly unfounded, nor was it something Yusuke wasn't used to. Not surprisingly, family had never been a big staple in his life. Shrugging it off, he made his way over to his bed.

A/N: Okay, so I decided to leave it off here. What do you think? R&R!

Ashley- Thank you!

AniMegurl- Lol. Yes, well, they'll show up eventually. Thanks for reviewing!

Anime Alex36- Haha. I do that too. Glad you're liking it. I'm not going to say anything about the pairings...but I agree with what you're saying. It bugs me too...hint hint

anime-lavuh- glad to hear it! Thanks!

PriestessKikyoMarie- will do. Sorry bout the long wait.


	5. Of Ladles and Talking Slugs

Yusuke woke up the next day and went downstairs to find nobody there. He yawned and scratched his head. _Where did everybody go?_ He wondered sleepily. _Oh well, might as well get something to eat._

A box of opened cereal sat on the kitchen table, so he grabbed it and poured himself a bowl. Going to the refrigerator, he found himself a carton of milk and added it to his cereal. However, he couldn't, for the life of him, find a spoon. He did everything short of turning the kitchen upside down, but in the end, he had to resort to using a ladle that he'd found instead.

_What kind of a crackpot family has everything else but does not own spoons?_ He thought angrily, jamming a ladleful of cereal into his mouth and getting it stuck. He tugged on it and it came out with a _Pop!_ He glared at it and walked into the living room to watch some television. Five minutes later, he did it again.

Kagome's mom had taken her grandpa and Sota to a priests' convention; or rather, she took Grandpa, who dragged Sota along as well, still convinced that it was not too late for him to shave his head and start his priesthood training. Since Yusuke was still sleeping, Kagome had seized the opportunity to avoid him by taking Keiko on a tour of the Higurashi shrine.

Kagome and Keiko had hit it off quite well and spent the morning talking about nothing in particular as Kagome showed her around the shrine. It was noon when they got back to the house. Keiko was explaining some obscure algebraic theory to Kagome when they heard a _Pop!_ followed by a loud, angry snarl. They went into the living room to find Yusuke sitting on the couch in his boxers glaring at a large, plastic, blue ladle.

"Uh…Yusuke?" said Keiko. "What are you doing?"

Yusuke jumped suddenly noticing their presence. He turned red and muttered something about spoons before grabbing a half-eaten bowl of cereal from the coffee table and storming out of the room.

"Is he…always like this?" asked Kagome.

"More or less," answered Keiko, smiling.

Kagome shrugged and they both sat on the newly vacated couch and channel-surfed for a while before deciding to watch a movie instead.

Yusuke came down a little while later, now dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. His hair was gelled up in his customary style. He didn't say anything, still peeved an a little embarrassed about the earlier occurrence, which the girls had already forgotten. He sat down on the couch next to Keiko. They were too engrossed in the movie they were watching to pay much attention to him.

Yusuke watched with them for a while and was really getting into it. After a particularly exciting scene, he asked curiously, "What movie is this?"

"Titanic," said Kagome without looking away from the screen.

"Leonardo diCaprio," said Keiko and they both sighed dreamily.

"Your joking, right?" he said flatly, looking as if he was about to choke.

The girls looked at each other and simultaneously burst out laughing.

"Really, Yusuke," said Keiko between giggles, "I thought you knew me better."

"It's the Italian Job," said Kagome, smiling a little. "Starring Mark Wahlberg, not Leo diCaprio. Sorry to disappoint you, Yusuke."

"What? I'm not disappointed!"

"Uh-huh."

Yusuke sat back and fumed and they watched the rest of the movie in silence. When it was over, Kagome got up and stretched.

"Great movie," she said. "So where do you guys want to go for lunch?"

"You got any good noodle places around here?" asked Yusuke, hesitantly after Keiko hadn't spoken up. He usually just let her choose where to eat since he wasn't too picky about food.

"Sure, there's one right down the street. I'll just grab some money and we can be on our way." She ran back up to her room, leaving Yusuke and Keiko on the couch.

Yusuke turned to Keiko, noticing that she'd been unusually quiet. "You okay?" he asked her. "You look a bit funny."

And he was right. She was sitting stiff as a board and staring down at her hands, which were tightly clasped in her lap.

"Um…Yusuke?" she said hesitantly. "Your arm…"

He looked and found the aforementioned limb around her shoulders. During the movie, he had subconsciously put it there and neither had noticed until now.

He quickly snatched his arm away, immediately missing the warmth of her body. Both looked away, keeping their gaze on anywhere in the room but at each other. "Sorry," he mumbled, not really feeling sorry at all.

"Okay! Got it!" announced Kagome, hopping back into the room. She paused, seeing them sitting uncomfortably on the couch, both their faces beet red. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," said Keiko, recovering first and putting on a bright smile. "Of course not. Let's go. I'm starved." She got up and walked past a bewildered Kagome to the door. "Come on," she said impatiently.

"Right," said Kagome, running to catch up. Yusuke followed at a slightly more leisurely pace, his face a mask of indifference.

Back in Kagome's room, a small slimy slug-like demon made it's way out of the large yellow backpack in which it had been hiding. Actually, it had been originally hiding in there, but then it took the little piece of grossness ever since the last night to find its way out of the bag.

_Stupid backpack,_ it was thinking to itself, very disgruntled. _Who carries something that big around with them all the time?_

It continued grumbling and muttering complaints to itself, which, had anyone been there to listen, would have just sounded like occasional squeaks and blubbery noises. Leaving a slim trail of slime behind it, it made its way slowly toward the desk where it could feel the pulsing energy of the Shikon jewel shards.

A/N: okay, that last part was a bit odd, but we thought we should give an update on our good friend, Mr. Slug. Sorry about the long wait. We were originally going to add more, but we couldn't think of what to add. Well, make that, we just couldn't think. So we just decided to let you guys have it. Please R&R! Criticism welcome! (P.S. Yes, we are now officially referring to ourselves in the third person plural form.)

DraGonMistress704-Yes, definitely not. We're hoping he can cope with a week. (We don't think it's likely)

Gloria-It will. We're excited about it too. We're just waiting for the right time.

GoldenKitsuneHime13-For your first question, the answer is no, they won't be in the Dark Tournament. As for #2, we've already said that we will not reveal pairings. You'll just have to wait and see D

Phinixofthezodiac-Thank you! And sorry for the long wait!

Anime Alex36-laughs evilly Sorry 'bout the wait, hope you like this chappie, though it's kind of just a filler…

Auroratwin-Heh. Thanks…we think. ) and we thought that thing got broken, but then we saw it again, but it was with Botan, so we're assuming it's still with her.

Dark lil Hiei-Well, you may be surprised, but we'll say nothing more.

koriaena-Thank you! D


	6. A Day With the Girls

A/N: Sorry, 'bout the last chapter. I'll try to make this one a bit more interesting.

Back in the Feudal Era, Inuyasha was sitting near the well in a particularly sour mood that only seemed to worsen with time. Suddenly, he made an angry noise and got up. Bursting into Kaide's hut where the rest of the group was resting, he demanded, "She's been gone forever. Shouldn't she be back yet?"

"Inuyasha," began Miroku hesitantly, slightly bolder than the others. "I don't know how to tell you this, but, it's only been one day."

"Half of a day, actually," put in Shippo helpfully.

"What?" said Inuyasha. "But I could have sworn that…"

"Just your imagination, I'm afraid," said Miroku.

"Wishful thinking," added Sango.

"Wishful thinking? I do not wish she were back. She can stay away for a whole year if she wants to. It's no skin off my back. I'm just worried that Naraku will find all the jewel shards before us, that's all."

"Ye had better hope that Kagome does not hear that," warned Kaide.

"Nah," said Inuyasha, waving her warning aside with a confident smirk. "She's back home in her little modern time. She wouldn't come back. Besides, I wouldn't care if she hears it or not. It's only the truth."

"Inuyasha!" came the familiar voice.

The dog demon jumped, recognizing Kagome's voice immediately and knowing that he was in deep trouble. "I-I didn't mean it," he stammered immediately. "I was just joking around. Kaide made me say it. Please don't sit me!"

He heard a noise behind him that seemed halfway between a snort and a choke and looked back to see Sango and Miroku staring at the figure in the door with the oddest expressions. Looking at her himself, Inuyasha said, "Hey, Kagome, you look different." He sniffed the air. "You smell different too…Sorta like…SHIPPO!" There was a little cloud and a _poof_ as the little fox demon appeared, smiling innocently.

Miroku and Sango, who couldn't hold it in any longer, collapsed on each other, laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face," gasped Miroku between laughs.

"Oh, Kagome, please don't sit me!" said Sango in an exaggeratedly desperate imitation of him.

Inuyasha turned on the little fox demon and said, "You'd better start running because when I catch you, I'm gonna…" The rest of his threat remained unheard as he took off chasing the little kitsune, who ran for his life.

"Lighten up, Inuyasha! I was just playing!" he shouted desperately.

"Well let's see how much you like to play when I'm through with you."

Meanwhile, Yusuke had just polished off his third bowl and was working on an attack plan for a fourth that was already sitting in front of him. Kagome stared in open-mouthed amazement as he devoured bowl after bowl within a matter of seconds. Keiko was calmly sipping her own soup, her slow pace showed in heavy contrast to Yusuke's who was sitting right next to her.

"Kagome?" said Keiko, noticing the black-haired girl's stare. "Are you okay?"

Kagome closed her mouth and shook her head. "When he ordered ten bowls of yakisoba, I thought he was just joking."

Keiko smiled, glancing at Yusuke, who hadn't even noticed that someone was talking. "Oh, I know. I've gotten used to it by now, but I still sometimes wonder where it all goes."

Yusuke suddenly looked up to see both of them staring at him. "Mmr ummf mm-hmm hmm mmff?" he said, spewing noodle chunks all over the table.

The girls ducked out of the way and Yusuke struggled to swallow his mouthful before speaking again. "Are you two talking about me?" he asked suspiciously.

Kagome picked a noodle off the table in front of her. "We were wondering where all the food goes," she said.

Yusuke shrugged. "I exercise a lot?" he offered.

Keiko snorted. "Yeah, right, Yusuke," she said. "All I've ever seen you do is lie around a watch TV." That was a bit of a lie, since she also knew that he fought in gang fights sometimes too, but she decided that maybe she shouldn't mention that in front of his family.

"I do to!" he protested.

"Really?" asked Keiko, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like sav—" he stopped himself just in time and mumbled something incoherent.

"Hah!" exclaimed Keiko, taking it as a victory. "I knew it!"

Kagome watched the exchange with amusement. "Wow," she said. "Aren't you two the epitome of a bickering old couple."

Keiko and Yusuke both flushed bright red at her comment. "What are you talking about?" demanded Yusuke, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Kagome just smiled. _Not just friends then_, she thought.

And now, back to our good friend, Mr. Slug. It had long since given up on cursing, saving its breath instead for the long trek across the floor. It had made its way to the bottom post of the table and had already begun to climb up.

The jewel shards, sitting in the small bottle on Kagome's desk, seemed to shine more brightly at the creature's approach.

The three of them decided to go see a movie and then afterwards, the girls had wanted to go shopping. They arrived back at Higurashi Shrine sometime around late afternoon. Yusuke slumped down on the couch, exhausted and thoroughly bored out of his mind.

He had somehow not only been convinced to go with them into the stores, but he'd ended up carrying all of their bags as well. "What'd you guys have to go and buy all those clothes for anyway?" he asked. "It's not as if you need it."

"Oh," said Keiko, grinning mischievously. "They're not all for us."

Yusuke looked up suspiciously, noticing that she was holding something behind her back. "What did you do?" he asked, not exactly sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Now, Kagome!"

Yusuke had not noticed her sneaking up behind him until she suddenly tackled him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Pinning him beneath her, Keiko rushed over, revealing what she'd hidden behind her back: a make-up kit.

"Oh, no," said Yusuke. "No, no, no, no, no, no—Ah!" He choked as a cloud of noxious perfume surrounded him, making it difficult to breathe. So subdued, Keiko and Kagome continued with their heinous plan.

Semi-evil snickers out drowned his protests as the two girls proceeded to give him a comprehensive makeover. Had anyone been listening, they would have thought that someone was being tortured; lashing, fingernail pulling, head cranking, feet tickling, the works. Of course, by the time they were done, Yusuke would probably have gladly undergone any of the other torments.

Unnoticed by any of them, a small compact-mirror sized object fell out of Yusuke's pocket and rolled into the pile of make-up accessories (a.k.a. torture devices).

XXX

A/N: So? What'd you think? Kind of a filler chapter, this one. I know it took a long time to write. Sorry ducks flying rotten fruit. Anyway, added a bit of interestingness at the end there and I will leave it to you readers to guess exactly how that 's going to come into play later. ;-) ANYWAY, please R&R people! As for those of you who are still with me, THANK YOU!

koriaena: Agreed. Don't know why I put that in there really. Slugs are probably the one thing in this world that will make me scream. Nasty little critters, they are.

Kimie: I'll try. Thanks for reviewing!

Anime Alex36: Never! Hahahaha! Sorry for the long wait. I'm trying, really I am. Forgive me? innocent grin

Sailor-Celestialis: No and yes. I included a note about that somewhere. I only realized it after writing, so we're just going to assume that Puu is a whole lot smarter than Yusuke and built himself a time machine or something. Thanks for reading!


	7. Growing Suspicions

Kagome's mom, little brother, and grandfather arrived late that night to find that a bomb had exploded in the living room. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. Pieces of cloth and makeup accessories were scattered everywhere around the room and the three teens were nowhere in sight.

They were just thinking the worst when they heard a tortured scream from upstairs. All three raced up the narrow staircase, but Sota got there first. He reached Kagome's room to find Keiko and Kagome huddled together and giggling. There was something behind them, but he couldn't see what it was.

Kagome's mom and grandpa arrived as well and looked mildly bewildered. "Is everything okay up here?" asked Kagome's mom. "We thought we heard a scream."

Then, Grandpa gave a gasp and let out a horrified shout. "Demon!" he warned, pushing Sota and his mom out of the way. "Stay back!"

Kagome looked around wildly for a second. Seeing nothing unusual, she turned back to her Grandpa. "What demon?" she asked. Keiko seemed equally confused.

"It's sitting right next to you," said Grandpa. He began chanting in an odd language and waving around something that looked like it had been dead for quite a while. Slowly, he advanced into the room and stopped in front of a figure that had appeared behind Kagome and Keiko, brandishing his talisman in front of its seemingly puzzled face. It was a horrendous figure, its face covered in a grotesque blend of colors and textures. Its skin was bare from the neck down, covered in some places by scraps of cloth that seemed once to have been a shirt of some sort.

"Begone, demon! Return to where you belong! Do not harm my family or I'll—" He paused as his waving accidentally brushed against the figure's face, taking a smudge of color with it. Grandpa sniffed it curiously and gave it a lick. "Mm," he said, "Cherry."

The girls collapsed into fits of laughter as Grandpa moved aside to let Sota and his mom see what was going on. Yusuke, suddenly freed, stood up and quickly fled the room, saying, "They're insane! Get me out of here!"

&&&

That night, Mr. Slug finally reached his destination. He would have done it later that day had it not been for the swarm of activity in the room that scared him into hiding. _Stupid teenagers,_ he grumbled. _Don't they have anything better to do? Back in my day…_

When it reached the glass bottle, however, it found that it was completely incapable of opening it, try as it might. It was on the verge of giving up when it noticed the open window. An imaginary light bulb appeared over its head as Mr. Slug had his epiphany of the day.

He pushed the bottle until it was balancing precariously on the edge of the desk. Then, taking a deep breath, it jumped on, tipping the bottle so that it fell out of the window and down the two stories to the ground.

Mr. Slug felt itself get bounced on and rolled over several times before the bottle stopped moving. It looked up excitedly to find that the bottle…had not broken. _WHAT!_ it roared in its squeaky, gurgle-voice. _How could it not break? My plan was foolproof! What are they making glass out of these days? Metal?_

As it continued to groan and complain, it didn't notice the figure that was rapidly approaching until it was too late. A foot came down. _Squish!_

Mr. Slug let out a howl of pain as the shoe descended on and crushed his tail. However, he quickly stifled it as he saw the person pause and look around for the source of the sound. The face turned down and Mr. Slug feared for a moment that he had been spotted. The person bent down, coming closer, and closer. Mr. Slug shrunk down inside itself and cowered before the horrendous being. Its face was hideous and it seemed to have uneven patches of fur as if it were an experiment that had gone horribly wrong. A hand reached out and seemed to be about to squash the remaining life out of the demon when…it passed Mr. Slug by and picked up the glass bottle next to it.

Mr. Slug's initial relief turned to despair as the shards, which had been so close he could almost touch them, were once again lifted out of his grasp. _Nooooooooooooooo!_ he cried in anguish, not even noticing anymore as the person's foot lifted off of his demolished backend, and no longer caring if he was heard. It didn't matter, however, because just then, a group of crickets began their nightly chorus and completely drowned it out.

&&&

Yusuke straightened and examined the thing he had just picked up. He had forgotten a bag in the car when he had arrived the other day and had been going down to retrieve it when a gleam caught his eye.

It was a tiny vial with a couple of shiny crystal shards inside. Looking up, he found Kagome's open window directly above him. _Probably dropped out off her desk,_ he thought. He wondered what he should do with it. Giving a half smile, he thought, _I'll just see how long it takes her to notice it's missing. That'll teach her to give me a surprise makeover. _Pocketing the bottle, he proceeded to the car to get his bag, whistling happily.

&&&

That day, Inuyasha, for want of something better to do, began wondering about cousins. He realized that he didn't really know what a cousin was. He'd heard the term mentioned before, but had never really cared enough to find out what it was. He seemed to remember it being a pet of some sort, but somehow, that didn't seem quite right.

"Kaede, what's a cousin?" he asked, sitting inside the little cottage as the old lady mixed some herbs into a healing poultice. To his surprise, the woman went stiff and he thought he felt the air in the room drop a few degrees.

"Cousins are evil beings," she said, her tone full of foreboding. "They are creations of the devil that exist purely to spite the righteous and good. They torture the people you value most just to hurt you. Then, when you finally give in to their every demand, they destroy you by killing your loved one. I'll have my revenge someday!" she shouted suddenly, waving her fist in the air. "You wait and see!"

Inuyasha slipped out of the cottage, thoroughly unnerved and now a bit nervous. Had he left Kagome in some sort of danger? Maybe that was why she wasn't able to come back. They were forcing her to stay in the future. Maybe they were even after the jewel shards!

"Hey, Inuyasha, are you okay?" asked Miroku, who had been sitting outside the hut. "You seem sort of worried."

"It's none of your business," Inuyasha snapped. "I have to go." Without another word, he took off, leaving a highly confused Miroku behind.

&&&

Kagome snuggled into bed that night, still smiling at the demented drag queen image of Yusuke as she'd last seen him. Keiko had fallen asleep already and was snoring lightly on the extra mattress that had been set up for her in Kagome's room.

Kagome still wished that she could be helping Inuyasha and the others to find jewel shards in the Feudal Era, but staying with her cousin wasn't half-bad either. Keiko was certainly a nice girl. Yusuke was a bit odd, but that's the way he'd always been. He seemed different, though, from the rebellious brat that she remembered him as. She wanted to say that he seemed more mature, but that wasn't possible.

Something about him almost seemed to remind her of Inuyasha. She wondered what it would be like if those two met. Realizing what she was thinking, she laughed at herself. Yusuke and Inuyasha in the same room; what a disaster that would be.

Yawning contentedly, she snuggled deeper into her blankets and closed her eyes, still smiling at the thought. No sooner had she shut her eyes, than she felt a presence hovering over her. Her eyes flew open to find Inuyasha standing over her bed, a mere shadowed silhouette in the dark room. _Oh, no,_ she thought.

Putting a finger to her lips and gesturing to the sleeping Keiko on the ground, she prayed that he could see and understand what she meant. She waved toward the door and started to slip toward it. Inuyasha moved, seemed to shake his head. She gave him a confused look, but before she could ask what was wrong, she felt herself being picked up and gave a short scream of surprise as he leapt out the window. She bit it off quickly, hoping no one had heard.

She and Inuyasha both waited for a few moments with bated breaths to see if Keiko had heard.

"She stirred, but she didn't wake up," Inuyasha whispered in her ear after a few moments.

"Are you sure?" she whispered back.

She could almost see his indignant scowl, though the dark hid his features from her. "Of course I'm sure," he said, twitching his ears irritably.

"Right," she whispered back. "Sorry."

They stood there in silence for a few moments more. Suddenly, they both seemed to realize that he was still holding her. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and he was carrying her bridal style. They both coughed or made some sort of noise to hide their embarrassment as Inuyasha set her down.

Kagome blushed hotly and was intensely grateful for the dark that hid it. Neither said anything for a while. Finally, Kagome cleared her throat.

"What did you come here for?" she asked. "I thought I told you that I wouldn't be back for another week."

"I know, but…" Inuyasha drifted off, finding that he didn't really understand the reason he was there. "I was wondering…How is your cousin?" he asked finally.

Kagome, slightly confused, but also touched by the fact that he actually seemed to be taking an interest in her life (despite the time and method of his showing it), said, "He's fine, crazy as ever. He brought his friend along too and I like her a lot. Her name's Keiko. I think you would like her too."

"So he's hasn't…harmed you in anyway?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," said Kagome, starting to become suspicious. "Inuyasha, have you been talking to Kaede about her cousins?"

"No," he denied quickly. Then in a more curious tone, "Why?"

"Because she's told me the story about her cousins and how they tragically ripped apart her favorite doll when she was a kid. She doesn't seem to have forgiven them for it yet…" Kagome had actually met Kaede's cousins and they were very decent people. Kaede simply refused to give up her grudge from when they were 6 years old. If Inuyasha had been talking to her, he might have gotten some pretty twisted ideas about cousins.

When Inuyasha didn't answer her, she knew that she'd been right. "It's okay, Inuyasha. I'm perfectly safe."

_Good thing I was awake_, she thought, _otherwise that meeting between Inuyasha and Yusuke might have really happened._ She shuddered to think of how _that_ would have ended: with Inuyasha tearing Yusuke to pieces while her cousin called the demon all the vulgar names he knew (which were actually quite a few).

"Who said I was worried about you?" countered Inuyasha. "I just wanted to make sure that the jewel shards are still there."

"Oh, I see," said Kagome, annoyed. "So all you care about are the shards, is that it? Well fine, you can take your precious shards and I'll just stay here."

"What!" He was quickly shushed by Kagome.

"Keep it down!" she hissed. "And why should I ever come back with you if you don't even care what happens to me, hm?"

"But I- you- You can't do that!"

"Watch me," she said, stalking back into the house.

&&&

Neither noticed Yusuke watching from his window again. Keiko had not been awakened by the scream, but Yusuke had heard it. He had been paying special attention after the other night and it turned out that he hadn't been hallucinating. Kagome had some secrets, and from the looks of that demon and the midnight meetings, they were not at all good. He'd have to keep an eye on her.

He sighed. He had actually grown to like his cousin. She was a bit air-headed and that makeover was not at all cool, but she had a good personality and was sensible when she wasn't off in space. He hoped that his suspicions were wrong, that maybe he'd just mistaken a strange boyfriend for a demon. _I'll just have to wait and see,_ he thought, fingering the little glass bottle in his pocket grimly.

&&&

She tiptoed back up to her room and quietly shut the door behind her. The room was as she left it and Keiko hadn't moved. She cast a perfunctory glance at her desk, checking that the jewel shards were still there, and then she- She froze and did a comic double take as her eyes shot back to her desk, scanning every inch of it. The shards were gone!

She covered the distance to her desk in a stride and frantically searched about, hoping that she had just misplaced it. _Oh, no!_ she thought. She checked her backpack too, turned it inside out, but found nothing in there either. _Inuyasha is going to kill me_, she thought with a growing sense of doom.

She tried to sleep again, but this time, sleep refused to come. She was filled with dread about the shards. Even if Inuyasha didn't kill her, the shards would be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. Where could they have gone? She glanced over at her desk as a breeze stirred the curtains on her open window. _It must have rolled out!_ she realized with a start. She made to get up again, but realized that it would be far too dark to search for it. She'd have to wait until morning.

Still, her worries were not allayed. In fact, they grew worse. If they'd rolled out her window, _anyone_ could have picked it up. The shrine had many visitors and she'd never be able to find out who did it. Anxiously, she tossed and turned in her bed, wishing that morning would come so she could go look. Sleep finally took her sometime in the early morning.

She felt that she'd only just closed her eyes when her mom came into her room and woke both her and Keiko up for breakfast. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head to keep the light out. A second later, she threw them off and ran down the stairs and out the front door in her pajamas. Some of the shrine's early morning visitors stared, but she didn't notice as she desperately scoured every inch of the lawn for the little glass bottle.

_It has to be here,_ she half prayed, half demanded. _It just has to be! Where is it?_

Finally, after her fifth time going over the entire lawn, she sat back, admitting that it wasn't there. "It's not here," she mumbled bleakly to herself, feeling slightly numb. Something bad was going to happen now. It was inevitable. The shards were circulating about somewhere. It was only a matter of time before someone realized their power and used them to reach their own ends.

She covered her face with her hands. _How could I have let this happen? How could I have been so stupid! If only I'd put them in a safer place! I'm such an idiot! I-_

Keiko, who had tapped her on the shoulder, interrupted her thoughts. She wore a concerned expression on her face. "Your mom told me to tell you that breakfast was ready. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kagome lied. "I'm fine."

She got up and followed Keiko inside resignedly. She ate her food without tasting it and Keiko looked worried. "You really don't look so great," she said. "Are you sick?"

"No, no," said Kagome. "I'm really okay." She forced a smile and tried to pay more attention to what she was eating. She didn't notice Yusuke watching her intently from across the table.

"How did you guys sleep last night?" her mom asked them. "Was everything okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Keiko politely.

"Everything was great," said Yusuke in an oddly polite tone. "How about you, Kagome? You didn't seem to have gotten much sleep last night. What were you up so late doing?"

"What?" asked Kagome, surprised by both the question and his tone. She looked at him and saw a strange look in his eyes that she couldn't quite make out. "N-nothing. I had bad dreams," she lied.

His eyes hardened and she became slightly frightened by what she saw in them. "I see," he said.

Keiko looked back and forth between the two of them. "Is something going on here that you two aren't telling me?" she asked. "Yusuke, what is it?"

"It's nothing, Keiko," he said. "I was just concerned about my dear cousin, that's all."

Keiko gave him a disbelieving look. "Kagome? What's going on?"

Kagome shrugged, giving Keiko a look of innocent ignorance, but her glance flicked back to Yusuke, who was now nonchalantly shoveling down bacon and eggs as if nothing had happened. _What's up with him?_ she wondered.

A/N: Well then, this was a pretty fast update for me. Finals are coming up (yes, I still have school, pathetically enough), so naturally, I'm stalling. Anyway, this story is starting to move. Whee! Hopefully, the next chapter will come soon. Thanks to all those who reviewed and are still with me. I promise I'll try to make it worth your while. Any criticisms or critics are welcome. Flames will do too, if you really want to, but try to have some useful commentary in there, will ya? Useless flames just really tick me off.

EDIT+ A friend just tipped me off that my chapter titles were getting repetitive. I didn't even notice that. Anyway, changed the chapter title. It was hard to come up with one for this chapter. So scattered...

...- sorry to disappoint, but Mr. Slug hasn't made it yet. I was going to give it to him for all his hard work, but I just didn't feel like it yet. : D Thanks for reviewing!

FireFox – thank you!

Sk8er7 – Not quite, but we're getting there. Don't want to rush things, you know.: )

DevilDo1169 – Thanks!

Lady of Chaos 2005 – Your wish is my command (sometimes)

FireFox639 – Haha, thanks! You have almost the exact same name as one of my other reviewers, btw.

serenity2222 – will do

robin162004 – here it is. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!

Anime Alex36 – haha! Sorry, no dress, but they did tear his clothes off…sorta. Btw, I found a locker at my school with Alex 36 scratched into it. How crazy is that?

shadow miko – the wait is over! Thank you for your comment : )


	8. Disfunctional Shoulder Angels?

After breakfast, Kagome's mom suggested that they go for a walk and Keiko happily agreed. Kagome shrugged, thinking that a walk might just clear her thoughts. However, she now noticed Yusuke watching her out of the corner of his eye with that same odd expression on his face. It was actually the fact that she was seeing him serious about something for the first time ever and it was such an un-Yusuke like thing to do that she didn't recognize it.

Yusuke lagged behind as they walked. Neither he nor Kagome spoke much, so Keiko filled the silence with happy chatter as they walked. She could tell that something was on the other girl's mind, but she wasn't about to pry.

They reached a relatively secluded spot along the path under a large tree and decided to sit down on the bench for a while. It also happened to be the same tree that Inuyasha had been bolted to for fifty years. Kagome stared at it for a while, lost in her troubled thoughts.

Yusuke, as always, sat about in a bored manner and either grunted or said nothing in reply to Keiko's senseless rambling. Keiko was beginning to feel bored as well and when she suddenly fell silent her two companions look over at her curiously.

"My throat's dry," she said. "Do you know where I can find some water?"

Kagome nodded. "If you keep going down the path, you'll find a mini-mart. There should be some drinks in there. Do you need money?"

Keiko shook her head. "No thanks, I have some. You two wait for me. I'll be right back."

She walked down the dirt road and disappeared around a bend. Unbeknownst to Kagome, this was exactly the moment Yusuke had been waiting for all morning.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Yusuke asked unexpectedly.

"What?" she asked, taken off guard by his question once again. He repeated himself, trying to look indifferent, but she could see that he still had that look in his eye that said he was definitely thinking about _something_.

"N-no," she answered. "Not really."

"Not really?" he asked. "A secret friend then?"

"No," she said, getting more confused. "What's going on, Yusuke?"

"I think I should be asking you that question," he said. "What do you know about demons?"

Kagome stiffened. "What are you talking about?" she asked, keeping her face carefully blank.

"I mean who was that guy I saw you talking to outside the house for the past two nights? He's definitely not human. I've seen him jumping from tree to tree. Since when have you seen a person do that?"

"Look, Yusuke," she said, nervous now. "It's not what you think. He's—"

"A demon, Kagome," he interrupted. "Give it up. Things have changed since we last met. I'm not an idiot anymore."

Kagome gave him a disbelieving look. "Now _that_ I just can't believe," she said.

Yusuke's severe look was broken by a scowl. "Shut up," he told her. And she cracked a tentative smile.

They said nothing for a few moments. Yusuke fumed as Kagome tried to get her thoughts in order. He'd seen them. She could lie. She'd always lied before, but how was she supposed to explain Inuyasha leaping through the trees? _I wish he would just walk like normal people_, she thought. _Then I could at least pass him off as just some eccentric homeless guy or something, but no, he has to go jumping around and doing super-human things that attract unwanted attention._

_Okay. Stop diverting from the subject. What am I supposed to tell Yusuke?_

_You could tell him the truth,_ a part of her said. A shoulder angel appeared to her on the left, a spitting image of her dressed in pure white robes and holding a harp of some sort. It seemed resigned by now after so many lies. This side never won the fight. It often wondered why it even bothered.

_That would be stupid,_ said the other side, another shoulder angel dressed in skimpy leather clothing with a rebellious expression on its face, made smug and confident by many victories in these debates. _How are you supposed to tell him that you're in love with a half-demon from another era and are helping him to fight demons in his time by slipping through a well?_

_Exactly! _said the good side. _Except maybe you could leave out the fact that you're in love with him_, it added after a look from the real Kagome.

_Fine, but it would still sound ridiculous._

_Nuh-uh._

_Yah-uh._

_Nuh-uh._

_Yah-huh._

Nuh—. 

Meanwhile…

Yusuke, who had been watching Kagome look from one of her shoulders to another for the past five minutes, seeming to be hearing something, was getting uncertain of his own accusations. Kagome didn't seem evil, but something wasn't right with her either. _Maybe she's just insane_, he thought. _She seems to have a few screws loose. But that doesn't explain the demon that she talks to._

_You may have just been imagining it all,_ said a voice as one of _his_ shoulder angels appeared on his left shoulder. It was him in a suit with glasses on and a British I'm-better-than-everyone expression on his face. _You sure you didn't have a few shots last night?_

_No!_ he denied.

_You don't have to be so high and mighty all the time, you know?_ said the other shoulder angel, appearing on Yusuke's right. This one was dressed exactly as Yusuke was now, in a plain white T-shirt and faded jeans.

_Aren't you supposed to look devilish?_ asked Yusuke.

_Yeah,_ said the shoulder angel. _I do. See?_ It pointed to a belt it was wearing that was back with hellish flames dancing along the edges.

_--U_

_Back to the situation at hand, boys?_ asked the other angel impatiently.

Okay, okay. What's got your panties in a bunch? 

_Nothing, and I resent your insinuation that I wear panties._

_Stop using big words! You know I can't understand them!_

_Well, maybe you should pick up a book every once in a while, Mr. Illiterate._

_Don't call me illiterate! I can read!_

_Oh yeah?_

_Yeah!_

_Then what does this say?_ The prissy angel held up a small, bottle of pills.

_La. Lacks. Lacksateyeves. Laxatives!_

_Great! You were under an hour this time!_

_Shut up. What are you doing with those anyway?_

_Um…nothing. _The pills disappeared.

You taking lax? 

_No!_

_Uh-huh, suuure. What do you need that for?_

_Stop that! It was just a bottle of medicine!_

_A bottle of medicine that just happened to be laxatives!_

_See? This is why we don't get along! You are always so mean to me and say these belittling things. I want a divorce!_

_blink (to Yusuke) What just happened?_

Yusuke shrugged. 

At that point, Keiko finally returned from her water crusade. She stopped and stared when she reached them. Kagome was looking rapidly from one shoulder to the next and looking very distressed. Yusuke shrugged while looking at one shoulder and then turned to the other and seemed to be watching or listening to something intently.

Keiko checked both of her shoulders, wondering what was going on. Finding nothing there, she looked back at the two cousins in bewilderment. _Maybe it runs in the family,_ she thought.

She cleared her throat and both of them looked up, startled. "Oh, Keiko! When did you get back?" Kagome asked. "I didn't see you."

"Yeah," agreed Yusuke. "You just came out of nowhere."

"Are you kidding? I've been standing here for five minutes watching you guys!" Keiko exclaimed. She threw her arms up in exasperation. "I give up."

&&&

The rest of the day was spent in wary silence for Yusuke and Kagome. Neither was prepared to make any open accusations, but each remained alert and watchful of the other.

Kagome battled with herself. She wanted to tell Yusuke the truth. He was family, and the rest of her family knew the truth. On the other hand, he was practically a stranger to her. She hadn't heard anything from him in years. She'd only spent two days with him and knew nothing about how trustworthy he was. Not only that, but if she told him about the Feudal Era, she would probably have to tell Keiko as well, and, despite her feeling that they could be trusted, it was far too risky.

_They probably wouldn't believe me anyway,_ she thought. _But Yusuke's already suspicious. If he goes snooping around and finds something out, the results could be worse. And what was that he said about things having changed? He knows something about demons, that was for sure. Maybe there's another portal somewhere and he's found it. If that were the case, then maybe she'd finally have someone to talk to about it._

She shook her head. What was the chance that there was another portal to the Feudal Era that her cousin happened to find and be able to pass through? He probably just watched one too many scary movies. Not to mention the fact that Keiko didn't seem to suspect a thing.

It was a serious problem. She wanted to tell. Anyone who has a secret for long enough constantly feels the urge to tell it. She'd had to restrain herself over the years and it wasn't all that easy. The lies that she had to keep telling her friends made her feel absolutely horrible. She sometimes avoided hanging out with them simply so that she wouldn't have to tell them anymore lies. It wasn't a good plan, but she had no alternative.

Kagome sighed. _I'll wait,_ she decided finally. _If something else happens, I'll explain. Otherwise, maybe he'll just forget._

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw him look quickly away, pretending to be staring at nothing. Somehow, she didn't think he'd forget anytime soon.

&&&

Botan paced about in front of Koenma's door. "He should know," she muttered, then shook her head. "But it's not there anymore. It could have just been a mistake."

She was still talking to herself and pacing when Kurama found her a little while later.

"Hey, Botan," he greeted her pleasantly. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Kurama! I was just thinking to myself," she said, smiling.

"You seem worried," he said, concerned. "Is something bothering you?"

"No, well, sort of. Yes," said Botan hesitantly.

"Why don't you tell me? I might be able to help," he offered.

"Well," she began. "It's the Demon Compass. Every once in a while, it seems to react wildly to something, like a really strong demon is in the area, but a few minutes later, it's gone. And it always seems to happen in the middle of the night."

"Hm," said Kurama. "That _is_ troubling. Were you going to tell Koenma about it?"

"Well, yes," she said, "that was my plan. It's happened twice already and I've tried to go to him twice, but it always stops by the time I see him. I want to say something, but I'm not sure. It could just be something wrong with the compass."

"Could I see it for a moment?" Kurama asked, pointing to the Demon Compass.

"Sure," said Botan, handing it over. "I've tried examining it myself, but I still can't find anything wrong with it."

"You're right," said Kurama, looking at it closely. "It seems to be working perfectly, but that presents us with an even bigger problem." He became grim. "How strong did you say the demon was?"

"I didn't, but it seems to fluctuate. Sometimes, it seems almost as strong as an S class demon, but other times, it seems to barely have any demon energy at all."

Kurama seemed about to answer when the great door to Koenma's office opened and the blue demon appeared. "Koenma can see you now," he said, waving them in.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Kurama offered.

"No, no, that's quite all right," said Botan with a bright smile. "I can handle it, but thank you."

She was, in truth a bit nervous, however as she walked toward the open ornate door. That is, she was until the pointer on the Demon Compass began spinning wildly.

A/N: Well, there you have it. This chapter was kind of icky, but I'm too lazy to go back and edit it, so you'll just have to live with it :P. Oh, and thanks to all those who reviewed, I REALLY appreciate it!

Lynnes – I'm shocked and honored that you actually read this! Yeah, I do need a title, and good point about the chapter title thing. I didn't even notice. Thanks! Oh yes, and you KNOW you want to buy me Starbucks on Tuesday. :puppy dog face:

shadow miko – thanks for reviewing!

Animefan601 – Haha. Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

KitsuneMistressoftheYoukai – Thank you for your review! And I'm not giving away pairings. You'll just have to read and find out ;)

Bus Buddie – Haha! You have to be the first person who's actually said they liked my title. Brownie points for that. And that is an idea. I'll think about it, considering none of this story is actually planned out before hand. You know about as well as I do what's going to happen. So we'll see, eh?

Chibes – Um…because she…just doesn't feel like it:) Bear with me here. I'm terrible with details and I just don't feel like having her find the shards just yet.

Dreamer Resurrected – Wow! I LOVED your review. It made me feel all happy for the rest of the day. Thank you so much! And I'm glad you think the storie's not a disaster. I hope to keep it that way. (I have a way of writing stories into the ground :winces:)


	9. All Hell Breaks Loose

_Earlier_

Kagome lay in bed, eyes wide open despite being dead tired. She was able to ignore her fears by keeping busy during the day, but at night, she had nothing but time to think. The peaceful quiet seemed thick and stifling to her. _How could I have been so stupid?_ she asked herself for the millionth time.

After an hour of trying to sleep, she gave up and went downstairs to get a cup of warm milk. Her preoccupation earned her a burn on her finger as she tried to take her mug out of the microwave.

She muffled a yelp and dropped the ceramic cup. It shattered on the floor, spilling milk everywhere. Muttering a curse, she got a towel and began cleaning up the mess. She was surprised when a pair of hands entered her field of view and began picking up the pieces of the broken cup.

Yusuke avoided her gaze as he finished picking up the shards and tossing them in the trashcan. Kagome rinsed the towel out and hung it up to dry. Giving up on the milk, she got out a tub of mocha almond fudge ice cream and two spoons instead, offering one to Yusuke. He took it wordlessly, studying its smooth, stainless steel surface.

They sat down at the table with the tub between them and ate in silence for about five minutes before Yusuke opened his mouth to say something. He shut it again, seeming unsure.

"What?" asked Kagome. This was it; he was going to ask again, and she was going to have to either lie to him or let him in on the secret. She bit her lip nervously.

As if in slow motion, he opened his mouth again and the dreaded words came: "So that's where you keep your spoons."

Had it been a cartoon, Kagome would have fallen out of her chair. Instead, she choked on her ice cream.

Yusuke clapped her on the back until her coughing subsided. When Kagome recovered, she had to muffle her laughter so that the rest of the house wouldn't hear. After a moment's hesitation, Yusuke joined in.

Kagome was laughing mostly at herself for getting so worked up over her cousin's suspicions. After all, this was Yusuke she was thinking about. He wasn't some evil demon out to get the shards or some ditsy gossip that would tell the entire world. He was her cousin, and even though he was a bit crazy sometimes, she could trust him.

"Yusuke," she said seriously when the laughter subsided.

"Yeah?"

She hesitated. Telling her secret still wasn't easy. "You know that guy you were asking me about earlier today?"

"Mm-hm," he replied, studying her carefully. "What about him?"

"Well," she said. "I think it's time that you knew. He's–" She stopped suddenly as she spotted a familiar glass bottle sticking partially out of Yusuke's pocket.

"Hey!" she said, almost forgetting to keep her voice down. "That's mine!"

Yusuke, caught off-guard, looked at her in confusion for a second before realizing what she was talking about. Taking the bottle out of his pocket, he smiled. "Oh, yeah. I forgot all about this. I found it outside last night. You know, you should really close that window of yours."

"Oh, thank God you found them!" exclaimed Kagome in relief. However, when she reached for it, he closed his fist around it and pulled it away.

"Not so fast," he said, grinning slyly. "I'll return it to you, but at a price."

"What!" she half-screeched. "Yusuke, I swear I'm going to kill you if you don't give those back to me _right_ _NOW_!"

"Been there, done that," he said lightly. "You'd better keep your voice down if you don't want to wake everyone up." Kagome shut her mouth and glared daggers at him. How _dare_ he!

"Give them back," she demanded with barely suppressed fury.

"Don't you want to at least hear what my terms are?" he asked.

"Give. Them. Back."

He pretended to consider it for a moment before saying, "No, I don't think so. Agree to the terms or no pretty little bottle thing."

Kagome heaved an aggravated sigh and said resignedly, "Fine. What do you want?"

"Well, to start," said Yusuke, "I want an apology for making me look like the Night of the Living Drag-Queen yesterday."

Despite her anger, Kagome couldn't help a snicker at the memory. "Oh, but you looked so pretty," she said, smiling.

"'Oh, but you looked so pretty,'" imitated Yusuke in a high falsetto. He glared at her. "Apology. Now."

"Fine," she said. "I'm sorry for giving you a make-over yesterday."

"Swear you'll never to do it again."

"And I swear I'll nev- Never? Come on, Yusuke, you can't make me give that up forever!"

"Want it?" Yusuke shook the bottle in front of her face, snatching it away as she made a grab for it. "Swear."

"I swear I'll never put make up on you again," she said. "Can I have them back now?"

"No," said Yusuke. "Not quite yet. First you have to tell me what's so important about this thing in here." He held the bottle up to the light, examining the shards.

Kagome fell silent.

Yusuke looked at her. "It has something to do with that guy, doesn't it?" he asked.

Kagome hesitated, and then nodded slowly. He took a step closer to her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. "Well?" he asked. "Are you going to tell me?"

His curiosity left him unprepared for her sudden lunge. She went for the hand with the shards and succeeded in knocking the bottle free. However, much to her dismay, it was sent hurtling out through the open kitchen window and onto the front lawn. She winced as she heard the distinct twinkle of shattered glass.

"Great," she said, turning to glare at Yusuke. "Now look what you've done!" She stalked off toward the front door to go retrieve the shards.

"Me?" he said to her retreating back. "You're the one who knocked them out of my hand!"

Kagome ignored him as she grabbed a flashlight and walked out the door. Getting down on the ground, she began to gather the tiny jewel shards, which had actually scattered quite far from the bottle. Reluctantly, Yusuke went out and helped as well.

"One, two, three, four, five," she counted. "There's one more."

"Are you sure?" asked Yusuke. "I don't see any around here."

"Keep looking," said Kagome. "We have to find it."

"Kagome, it's the middle of the night. Maybe we'll have more luck in the morning."

"No," she said. "We have to find it tonight. If someone (or something, she thought to herself) else finds it, we'll be in big trouble."

"Really?" asked Yusuke quizzically. "It's just a shiny piece of glass. We can look for it in the morning. I'm sure no one will take it."

"It is not just a shiny piece of glass and we have to find it now. I can't take the chance of someone else finding it. Bad things will happen. Trust me, Yusuke."

"What kind of bad things?" he asked, still skeptical.

As if to answer his question, there was a sudden flash of pink light and a gigantic, slug-like monster rose up from the grass between them and the house, roaring victoriously.

"That kind," said Kagome. "Run!"

Yusuke didn't need to be told twice. He followed Kagome as she took off down the path, the slug giving chase with surprising speed. It had taken the one they had been missing. Kagome could tell even without sensing the tainted shard inside the slimy demon.

She darted behind a storehouse, pulling Yusuke with her. They made another sharp turn into a sort of alley between two structures. They stayed silent as the slug zoomed past them.

"You okay?" she asked Yusuke, panting.

"Yeah," he answered. He had a ton of questions buzzing around in his head, each clamoring to be asked first. What was that thing? What were those shards? Why wasn't Kagome freaking out? And most importantly: What in the seven hells was going on!

Before he could ask anything, though, Kagome spoke. "I have a plan," she said, "but I'll need your help."

Yusuke paused, wanting to make her explain herself, but realizing that it wasn't the time, he simply nodded. "What do you need?"

"I need to get to that well-house over there," she said, pointing to a small shack across a stretch of open grass. "I need you to create a diversion for me; anything at all. Just make sure it's busy enough that I can get through. Can you do it?"

Yusuke nodded. "No problem, but you're explaining yourself when this is all over."

"Deal," she said. "Be careful."

"I can take care of myself," said Yusuke.

Kagome thought about replying, but decided against it. "On three," she said.

"Three!" shouted Yusuke.

She burst out of their hiding spot, sprinting for the well-house for all she was worth. Suddenly, the slug reared up in front of her, blocking her path. It opened what seemed to be a mouth and came at her.

Just when it was about to descend on her and Kagome was wondering where the hell Yusuke was, she heard, "Hey, Shit-face! Over here!"

Yusuke had seen the demon coming at her, but found way to stop it fast enough without using his spirit gun. _Here it goes,_ he thought as he came charging up from behind her. He leapt into the air and knocked the demon back with a burst of shots from his spirit shotgun. He landed near Kagome in a fighter's crouch, facing the demon.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who has some explaining to do," she said to him, more than a little surprised.

"Just go!" he shouted as the demon began to rise.

Kagome raced toward the shack again, making it inside and pulling the door shut behind her. Yusuke watched her disappear before turning to face his opponent.

In truth, Yusuke thought he could have taken on the demon alone, but he had a feeling that Kagome was going to get some help from her mysterious friend. His curiosity got the better of him and he decided to play with the demon until Kagome returned. However, his playing soon turned to actual fighting as he realized that the demon seemed invulnerable. Every hit he landed simply healed again immediately, and the demon just kept coming.

_What's taking her so long,_ he wondered, growing nervous. If the fight kept up for too long, he would run out of energy. He began to conserve his spirit energy, dodging and running when he could instead of attacking, but every time the demon turned back towards the well-house, Yusuke had to blast it again to keep it distracted.

&&&

Kagome slid into the well and tried to call Inuyasha with the jewel shards, but it didn't seem to work. He was probably too far from the well to hear her. Kagome bit her lip, thinking. What was it that Sota had said last time about Inuyasha when the Noh Mask had come after them? Something about being able to smell her blood…

Climbing out of the well, she looked around the room desperately, trying to find something sharp. Her gaze landed on her quiver of arrows. She quickly grabbed one and crawled back down into the well. Gritting her teeth, she drew a slash across her palm and let the blood drip onto the dirt beneath her feet. Gripping the shards with her other hand, she tried calling Inuyasha again. For a few minutes, she thought it had failed, but all of a sudden, the ground lit up and she seemed to see the universe open up beneath her feet for a moment. Then, a pair of white, furry ears appeared, followed by the rest of our favorite half-demon.

"Inuyasha!" she cried happily. "Theslugdemonmusthavefollowedmehomeanditstoleoneofthejewelshardsandnowitsoutsidebattlingyusukesoyouhavetogosavehimandgettheshardback. Okay?"

"Huh?"

"Slug demon. Jewel Shard. Outside. Now!"

"Right," said Inuyasha, picking her up and leaping out of the well. He put her down and burst out the door, drawing the Tetsuseiga as he went.

Even Yusuke, with his weak spirit awareness, felt the sudden burst of energy from the shed. Distracted as he was, the slug was able to catch him off guard and throw him about six feet into the air before he landed in a heap somewhere farther off.

This event, while bad for Yusuke, was incredibly good timing for Inuyasha because that meant that he, in turn, was able to catch our good friend Mr. Slug by surprise. The Tetsuseiga cut the demon neatly in two as Kagome ran to see to Yusuke. The creature roared in pain, thrashing angrily as it attempted to reconnect itself.

"Nice try," said Inuyasha, stepping between the slug's head and it's other half.

Inuyasha smirked, never taking his eyes off the gooey monstrosity. "I guess I didn't kill you as thoroughly as I'd thought last time," he said. "I won't make the same mistake again!"

He jumped into the air, prepared to bring the Tetsuseiga down on the demon's head.

"Inuyasha! Look out!" Kagome's warning came too late, as the tail whipped out and caught Inuyasha in mid-leap. He was thrown viciously to the ground in an explosion of dirt and grass.

The slug put itself back together and then turned its large, open maw to consume the dazed Inuyasha. A blue ball of spirit energy interrupted it, hitting it in the side and sending it flying. Yusuke came running up a moment later, ruffed up a bit, but otherwise unharmed.

"You okay?" he asked, offering Inuyasha a hand.

"Fine," snapped Inuyasha, slapping the hand away and getting up on his own. "Stay back, kid."

"Hey!" protested Yusuke. "I just saved your life. A little courtesy would be nice."

"Don't hold your breath, Twerp," said Inuyasha.

Kagome, meanwhile, was trying to pinpoint the exact location of the jewel shard. It seemed to keep moving around. Just then, she found it. "Inuyasha!" she cried. "It's in the left antenna!"

"Got it!" he shouted, already closing the distance between himself and the demon with unbelievable speed, readying his sword for the cut. The slug, realizing what was happening, was already retracting the antenna. "Oh, no, you don't!" shouted Inuyasha, bounding into the air. Before he cut, a blast of spirit energy flew by him, cleanly severing the appendage from the body. Furious at the interference, Inuyasha changed his angle slightly and chopped the slug in half instead, spraying a slimy, brownish substance everywhere.

This time, as the creature fell, its body disintegrated into a black dust that blew away in the wind. Kagome and Yusuke approached wiping specks of goop off of themselves. Yusuke watched curiously as Kagome bent to pick up the shard. It seemed to pulse with evil energy, a sharp contrast to the sparkling shards they'd been picking up a couple of minutes ago.

"Kagome, are you sure you should be–" He shut up as he saw the crystal shed the blackish taint at her touch and glow with a renewed, healthy pink.

"What were you saying, Yusuke?" asked Kagome, slipping the shard into her pocket with the others.

"Nevermind," he said, shaking his head and smiling. "We have some serious catching up to do."

Kagome returned the smile. "Yes," she said, "we definitely do."

A/N: I'm not even going to try to protest my innocence this time. I actually had this chapter written a while ago, but I hadn't posted it because I felt it needed editing. Then I got lazy. hehe. I'm SOOOO sorry. Thanks to anyone who's still with me. I love you guys!

Animefan601: Hm, good idea. Maybe he will ;)

Chibes: Haha, it's okay. I'm surprised I was even on anyone's favorite's list to begin with! Thanks for reviewing :)

Angel452: Sorry about the long wait. You're right, Kagome SHOULD have been able to sense the shards, huh? Darn, another inconsistency… I really gotta work on that.

Bus Buddie: Thanks! I think the best shoulder angels of all time are the ones in the Emperor's New Groove. That movie was awesome. Yes, I am a loser. hehe.

inuyashas hun: Thanks for your review! Hope you liked this chapter.

kimonoprincess: haha. So enthusiastic! Thanks so much for reviewing. I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter. And I'm sorry, but I've decided not to give out pairings for this. It would spoil all the fun!

shadow miko: Lol. Sorry! It just came. I love British people, I promise. fowgive me?

pirate of the wierd people: thankee!

Zuko's 1 and only: Brutal honesty. I like it. I agree with you, though. I just didn't want to make it happen too fast, you know? Anyway, hope you liked this chapter.

Sk8er7: Thanks! I'm glad you're still reading. So sorry about the extreeeeemely long wait.

Kagomente: thanks for reading :)


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